I'm level 17 or 18 and there's no point in me doing anything but selling all the gear I can and not trying to get better loot because it's constantly getting better and it seems like you can get to endgame pretty fast.

I was playing a few months ago with a free train account, and log back in because I heard about the anniversary event, get the quest late enough that by the time I can redo it, the vent will be over, and I choose that mystery box because I thought it was the "main" item, and just got a crappy shield.

Wow, I really like this game. The space combat reminds me of EVE with more emphasis on placement, and performing broadsides is extremely satisfying. The ground stuff is a neat mix of MMO and third person shooter. Having a lot of fun right now.

Starting after the maintenance this Thursday (February 9, 2012), a new item will begin dropping as loot in the game. This item is called a Cardassian Lock Box.

When a Cardassian Lock Box is opened, it will grant the character that opens it a random reward. These rewards range from a rare starship, to some great new items. The possible rewards are:

To open one of the Lock Boxes, a character will also need an item called a Master Key. Master Keys can be purchased in the C-Store for 100 CP, or in a 10-pack for 900 CP. If you attempt to open a Lock Box without a Master Key, you will get a message explaining that you need one. If you have more than one Master Key, then only one key will be consumed each time you open a Lock Box.